


Todd Finds Out

by lasvegas_lights



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-13 06:02:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13564374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasvegas_lights/pseuds/lasvegas_lights
Summary: 5 ways Todd discovers that Amanda and Martin are an item.





	Todd Finds Out

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like! Come say hi on Tumblr: http://starlingbite.tumblr.com/

**ONE**

Like most of Dirk and Todd’s cases, they eventually bump into Amanda and the Rowdy 3 on their travels. When it gets late, it’s Farah that suggests finding a nearby motel, resting, and figuring out their next steps in the morning.

Martin takes the lead in the van, with Dirk, Todd and Farah following behind in a rental. The detective trio aren’t used to roughing it quite like Amanda and the boys are and Amanda snorts at the expression on their faces when they pull up to the motel with the flickering lights and ‘great place for a murder’ vibe. Still, they get themselves rooms, Dirk collecting three keys whilst Amanda picks up two.

Todd stops outside his door and waves down the row of rooms to Amanda who’s unlocking the door to her own room. One door further down he sees the Rowdies piling through the door. “Night!” he shouts.

“Night!” she responds and disappears through the threshold.

In the morning after a terrible night’s sleep on a lumpy mattress, all Todd wants is a good breakfast. The lady behind the counter gives Todd directions to a nearby diner and then he heads over to Amanda’s room to invite her along.

When he knocks on the door he wasn’t expecting a stark-naked Rowdy to answer the door. He’s pretty sure this one was called Martin, “Oh!” Todd doesn’t know where to look, “I was looking for Amanda, did you guys swap rooms?”

“She’s asleep.”

“In there?” Todd motions to behind Martin, “With you?” His eyes widen.

Martin stares back at Todd blankly and says nothing.

Todd’s eyes only get wider when Amanda appears at the door with only a sheet wrapped around her. She seems unfazed by Martin’s nudity and tucks herself between Martin’s side and the doorpost. “What do you want, Todd?”

Todd’s mouth opens and closes a few times like a fish gasping for air, “You…and him…you’re sleeping together.”

“Wow,” Amanda rolls her eyes, “I can see why Dirk keeps you around, for your spectacular powers of observation,” She says, her voice dripping with sarcasm.  “Now what did you want?”

“Breakfast,” Todd answers dumbly. He shakes his head. “I mean, I was going to ask if you wanted to go out for breakfast.”

She looked up at Martin and somehow read his stoic expression before looking back at Todd “Sure, we’ll come.”

“Once you’re both dressed right?” Todd checks. 

“Funny,” Amanda pushes Martin back inside the room. “Go put some pants on, asshole.” When Amanda looks back at Todd there’s a devious grin on her face “I’m starving, we’ve worked up  _ quite _ an appetite.”

“Stop,” Todd grimaces, “I don’t want to hear this.”

“The sex is  _ amazing.” _

“Please, I’m begging you to stop.”

“He does this thing with his tongue which-

Todd turns and walks away, “I hate you!” He shouts over his shoulder.

“This is going to be fun!” She responds.

* * *

 

**TWO**

The ambush is unexpected and the bullets send everyone scattering for cover. Todd and Dirk duck behind a large rock, Farah and the Rowdy 3 behind individual trees. Todd doesn’t see where Amanda ends up and starts to panic.

When he tries peering around the rock, bullets aim in his direction and he shrieks in an unmanly way until Dirk yanks him back to safety.

“Amanda?” he calls out.

There’s no response.

“Drummer!” He hears Martin shout, louder than Todd, there’s worry in voice that Todd has never heard before.

“Martin?” Amanda replies and relief washes over Todd at her voice. She’s alive.

The guns stop briefly and when Todd looks around the rock again he sees Amanda curled up into a tight ball behind a tree stump without much cover and the gunman is slowly stalking towards her, reloading his gun in the process.

“Amanda, you gotta move!” he shouts at her.

She lifts her head and sees what Todd sees, the gunman, now reloaded, pointing his gun at her. She doesn’t have time to move and they both know it.

His heart is in his mouth and he can’t help but slam his eyes shut. He can’t watch his sister die.

The gun goes off and a second later another gunshot fills the air.

When he opens his eyes, the gunman is lying bleeding on the floor and Amanda isn’t behind the stump anymore. His eyes fall to the two bodies lying to the right of the stump, Martin covering Amanda’s body with his own. Not far away is Farah, a recently fired gun in her hands still aimed at where the gunman had been standing.

Amanda pushes Martin off her and shakily pulls herself to her feet. “Is it over?” she asks.

Todd’s eyes widen as he looks at his sister and the large bloodstain on her t-shirt. “Shit, Amanda, are you hurt?” he rushes to her but she pushes him away.

“It’s not mine,” She says and then realises what that means.

Martin is still on the ground.

She drops down beside the still man and quickly finds the hole in his shoulder which is slowly oozing dark red blood.

“No, no, no, no, no, no” Amanda immediately presses down hard on the wound. He snaps his teeth at her in reaction, the pain clearly affecting him. The other members of the Rowdy 3 come to stand around Martin and Amanda protectively.

“You okay, Drummer?” He asks through gritted teeth.

“You jumped in front of me, you idiot, you got shot.” She sniffs and wipes her wet eyes on her sleeve.

“I couldn’t…”

“Couldn’t what?” She asks.

His hand lifts from the ground and cups her cheek. Her eyes close and she leans in to the hand. She seems to understand what he’s not saying

“I can’t either,” She responds softly. “Not without you…so don’t you dare die on me you hear?”

“I hear you, Drummer.”

_ Oh. _

Todd may be oblivious at a lot of things, but even he can put the puzzle pieces together here. He doesn’t know how long it’s been going on, but by the looks the two are giving each other, it’s pretty serious.

Much later on, after Farah has patched him up and they’ve found somewhere safe to rest up, Todd goes to see Martin. He’s sat up in a bed, shirtless with a square patch of bandage over the bullet wound. Amanda is fast asleep, curled up beside the injured Rowdy.

“So, normally I’d say look after her, keep her safe,” Todd begins from his spot at the end of the bed. “But you did that already, so…thank you.”

Martin nods “I’d do it again, y’know.”

“Yeah, I know,” Todd says, and he honestly means it.

* * *

 

**THREE**

Todd is surprised when he discovers Dirk, his detective agency partner and friend, has regular phone conversations with his sister. He’s equally surprised to discover, as he listens in to their conversation, that she’s in a relationship with one of the four men she travels around the country in a van with.

“So tell me everything, did you make the first move or did he?.....uh huh…..oh yes, that makes sense…….really?.......Not sure you can call that romantic……in the van?...........and what did he say to that?.........with his teeth?.........no, never………sounds adventurous……”

The conversation carries on for another half hour but Todd loses interest and he’d rather not ask Dirk for more details because he knows Dirk will give him  _ all  _ the details. The less he knows about Amanda’s love life the better. Still, Todd wonders briefly which one it is and hopes to God it’s not the tall one with the mohawk.

He forgets all about it until he’s reunited once again with his sister and her troupe of travelling yobs. The case gets solved with the usual mix of chaos, confusion, luck and injuries and then he’s having to say goodbye to her once again.

Todd looks behind Amanda, glancing briefly at the youngest of her companions. He’s seen how Amanda interacts with each of the Rowdies and it’s suddenly clear which one Amanda is with, “He looks after you right? Vogel?” He doesn’t get to play big brother very often these days.

Amanda looks at Vogel and then back at Todd with one raised eyebrow “Vogel?”

“You’re seeing him right?”

She says nothing for a beat and then bursts with howling laughter that catches everyone’s attention “What on earth makes you think I’m seeing Vogel?”

“You’re not?” Todd is confused and now everyone is looking their way.

“What kind of detective are you again?” She somehow manages to ask through the tears and sniggers.

“Technically Dirk is the detective,” Todd responds a little defensively.

“Vogel!” Amanda calls and Vogel runs over like a puppy running to his owner. “My brother here thinks we’re  _ dating! _ ” Just saying it sends Amanda into fits of laughter once again.

The reaction from Vogel is immediate as his face contorts from horror to disgust to nausea. Amanda ushers his away when he starts turning a green colour and shakes her head at Todd.

“But…on the phone with Dirk…I overheard….so you’re not seeing anyone?”

“I am.” Amanda says.

Todd’s eyes flick to each of the members of Amanda’s companions. Cross and Gripps are fighting over the last can of beer, Vogel is running across the field chasing a butterfly and then there’s Martin, leaning against the side of the van, lit cigarette held between his lips and his sharp eyes staring at them both. No…not them both, he’s looking at Amanda.

“It’s Martin, isn’t it” He guesses.

“Ding, ding, ding! And the award goes to Todd Brotzman for finally figuring something out!” Amanda teases.

“Why does he look so angry?”

Amanda spins around and looks over at Martin. “Oh, don’t worry, that’s just how he always looks”

Todd sighs. He’s not sure about this development. “Is he…you know, good to you?” He asks awkwardly. The last thing he wants to do is cause another rift between him and his sister, she’s barely over the last one.

Amanda turns back to Todd and wraps her arms around his neck. He sinks into the embrace, suddenly realising just how much he misses his sister.

“He’s the best to me, I promise.” Amanda finally whispers.

* * *

 

**FOUR**

The last thing Todd remembers before falling unconscious is being lost inside a hedge maze that looked like something out of Alice in Wonderland. When he wakes, he’s in some kind of cell inside some caves. There’s a constant drip, drip, drip of water coming from somewhere and the wind rushing through the tunnels sounds like ghosts.

He’s also alone and he knows he entered the maze with eight other people. Amanda was the first to disappear, which sent the Rowdy boys into search and rescue mode. Farah went missing next. One minute she was there and when he and Dirk turned around she was gone. He and Dirk tried to stay together, but when a thick mist rolled in, the lost each other. Next thing he knew there was a dart in his neck and a woozy feeling in his head.

He doesn’t know how much time passes in the cell thanks to the lack of natural light. He calls out every now and again in the hope that someone can hear him, but no-one ever responds.

Rescue comes when he’s almost delirious with hunger, shivering from the cold, damp conditions and sleep deprived thanks to nothing but hard rock to sleep on. Farah and Dirk burst into the alcove he’s in like something out of an action film and Todd scrambles to his feet to greet them.

“Where the hell have you been? How did you escape?”

“It’s a really long story, one we don’t have time for.” Farah replies seriously as she slides a twisted piece of wire into the lock and picks it until the door pops open.

“Farah was  _ amazing _ ” Dirk grins. “As usual.”

“Amanda?”

“She’s down here somewhere,” Farah reassures him. “We’ll find her.”

The caves are just as labyrinthine as the maze they were lost in. Every fork in the road leads to another choice of tunnels and Todd feels the hope of finding his sister slipping.

Finally, they turn a corner and in the darkness, can make out a figure locked away in another cell. Todd runs to the bars, crouching down to the figure lying on the ground. She’s weak and her skin feels like ice but the minute they unlock the door she climbs slowly to her feet and pulls Todd into a hug.

“Come on, we need to get out of here.” Todd says.

“Wait, we need to find the Rowdy 3.”

“Don’t worry about them, I’m sure they’ll find their own way out of here,” Todd tries to pull her forwards but even exhausted she stands her ground.

“I’m not leaving without them.”

“Can you say they would do the same for you?” Todd asks sceptically.

“Yes, yes I can. The only reason I know they’re locked up like I was is that they’re not here right now.”

“We can’t stay down here too much longer,” Farah reminds them all “The people that took us will know we’ve escaped at any moment.”

Todd turns from Farah to Amanda, desperately, “Amanda, we need to go, now.”

“And I’m telling you, I’m not leaving without the Rowdy 3.”

Out of frustration and fear for all their lives, Todd grabs Amanda’s arm and tugs hard. “We don’t have time for this, we’re going!”

“No!” Amanda screams at him, yanking her arm back and out of his grip. There’s a fire in her eyes he’s not used to seeing and the outburst from her has him backing away. “I’m not leaving him!”

Amanda sucks in a deep shaky breath and then adds, “Them, not leaving without them.”

“Amanda,” Todd sighs.

“If you want to go Todd, you go, but I’m going to go find my friends.”

“Have you always been this stubborn?”

She nods, “Yes, you just never listened to me before.”

Todd winces at the truth in her words and then sags in defeat, “Okay, let’s go find the Rowdy 3.”

The search resumes and though he knows his sister is losing energy rapidly, she still forces one foot in front of the other. The risk of being found becomes greater and on two occasions they are forced to hide in dark crevices of stone to avoid being found out.

When they do stumble across the cage the Rowdy 3 are being held in, Amanda uses up the last of her energy to run to the bars.

Martin, who was stalking up and down the small cell like a caged animal, stops midstep and meets Amanda at the bars. Whilst Farah picks the lock, Martin reaches through the metal bars and cups Amanda’s cheek.

“You okay, Drummer?”

She nods, “Better now.”

The creaking swing of the door opening catches Martin’s attention, but he still waits for the other Rowdy boys to exit before leaving the confined space himself. When he steps through, Amanda’s legs buckle and his cat-like reflexes mean he catches her in his arms. Her arms go around his neck as he lifts her into the air, one arm supporting her back and the other under her knees.

Todd remembers Amanda’s words earlier.

_ I’m not leaving him! _

And he finally sees what’s been right in front of him for a while now. Martin and Amanda are more than just friends.

He should be mad that he’s finding out this way, or at least wonder what the hell Amanda sees in the growly guy with the beard and questionable destructive impulses. But instead as he watches them curiously, he sees his sister who risked getting recaptured to find Martin and he sees a man who wants nothing more than to protect Amanda, who hasn’t taken his eyes off her since they reunited.

Todd wants love like that with someone too, he realises.

* * *

 

**FIVE**

Todd is thrilled when Amanda calls to say they’re passing through the neighbourhood and she wants to stop in to the office and catch up. It’s been way too long since he’s seen her, the longest it’s ever been and he misses his little sister like crazy.

The cases they’ve taken on have all been bizarre and opened his world to all sorts of oddities and wonders, but they haven’t been able to distract him from the knowledge that his sister was out in the world somewhere on a risky mission with a secret government agency on her tail. Whenever she calls, the relief Todd feels washes over him, albeit temporarily.

Dirk and Farah make themselves scarce to give the siblings alone time, but promise to make an appearance before Amanda leaves.  

When he hears the very familiar rumble of the graffitied van she chooses to travel around in, he rushes to the window and watches it come into view. The van brakes suddenly and continued to rumble as Amanda jumped out of the passenger seat. She turned back around to talk to the driver briefly and then bangs the wall of the van twice, not moving until the van has disappeared again.

Finally, she strides over to the entrance of the office and lets herself in. She immediately pulls Todd into a brief hug and then looks around at the room she’s walked into. Todd forgets she hasn’t yet visited the new detective agency and grins proudly.

“You like it?”

“Not bad,” She grins back and then falls into the nearest couch. “Not bad at all.”

After retrieving a couple of beer bottles from the mini fridge, he sits down beside her and examines his sister carefully. Her hair is shorter than he ever remembers it being, even as a child she liked it long, and her skin has a glow to it he hasn’t seen since she was diagnosed. She’s happy, that much he can tell.

He tells her about some of their recent adventures and her eyes light up at his stories. Although she admits she’s slightly jealous, she tells him some of her own stories which are equally strange and hazardous.

“Don’t worry, the boys look after me,” She tells him “And I in turn look after them.”

Todd will never admit it to Amanda, but his level of trust in the Rowdy 3 doesn’t account for much. His few dealings with them have included violence, running into dangerous situations and enjoying it all a little too much. He’s not sure they could keep a plant alive let alone another human being.

The reason Todd will never say this to Amanda is he knows it would only anger her and he doesn’t want her to leave on bad terms.

“Okay, I’m going to say something and you have to try and not freak out.”

Todd looks at Amanda with a puzzled look on his face “Me? Freak out?”

“I know you, Todd Brotzman, and you freak out, like, a lot.”

“I do not!” Todd defends himself.

“Okay,” Amanda holds her hands up in surrender. “Fine, just please listen to what I’m about to say with an open mind?”

“Now you’re making me freak out.”

Amanda fiddles with the bottle cap in her hands nervously. “The thing is…me and Martin are a couple.”

Todd blinks “A couple of what?”

She groans and drops her head into her hands, “Together, we’re together, an item, boyfriend and girlfriend, partners-

“Okay, I get it,” Todd cuts her off and then feels a sudden need to down the rest of his beer. “We are talking about the same Martin, right? Tall, growly, likes vests and baseball bats?”

Amanda nods. “That’s the one.”

“Okay,” Todd doesn’t say anything for a long time as he tries to process what Amanda has just told him.

“Please say something,” she asks.

“I know it’s hard meeting someone when you’re travelling all the time,” Todd finally speaks. “Are you sure this isn’t some kind of…reaction to being in such close quarters?” He says carefully.

She sags back into the cushions in resignation, “I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

“It’s not that I….” The right words fail to come to him. “This isn’t the life I pictured for you.”

She frowns and he knows he has said the wrong thing. “You thought I would spend the rest of my life as a recluse? Relying on you for everything?”

“No! That’s not what I’m saying!”

“Then what?” Her arms fold across her chest.

“I just want you to be safe, it’s hard knowing you’re out there, God knows where doing God knows what with people who are trouble magnets. Anything could happen and I wouldn’t be there.”

“To what, protect me? I’m an adult now, Todd, I can look after myself”

“I know you can.”

“Is this about who I’m dating, or about the fact that I don’t need you anymore?” Her question cuts close to the bone. She’s always been able to read him better than anyone and knows exactly what to say. Todd says nothing, he’s not sure what to say.

“Would it make you feel better to know he loves me? That he would actually die to protect me?” she asks quietly.

“He would?”

Amanda nods “He’s stupid like that.”

“And you love him?” Todd asks.

“I do” Amanda smiles. “So much.”

The glow returns to her face as she speaks and Todd feels so bad there’s a bitter taste on his tongue. “I’m always going to worry about you, you know.”

She rolls her eyes at him “I know.”

“But you’re right, about being an adult, you get to make your own choices…and if that choice is Martin-”

“It is,” she insists.

“Then I look forward to giving him the big brother talk.” He puffs up his chest.

Amanda bursts out laughing. “Oh please, do it, I want to see the look on his face when you try.”

“He doesn’t intimidate me.”

“Yes he does,” Amanda replies knowingly, not missing a beat.

Todd sighs. Martin scares the shit out of Todd.

“Just please, promise me one thing.”

“What?” she asks warily.

“Don’t leave it so long next time, I miss you.”

Amanda’s arms slip around his neck and pull him into another hug. “I promise,” she responds.

When the van returns to pick Amanda up, Amanda and Farah are talking in hushed tones in the corner of the room. Amanda blushes occasionally so Todd really doesn’t want to know what their topic of conversation is.

She says goodbye to them in turn with more promises to return soon and the makes her way outside. Todd goes to the door and watches her stride up to the van. The side door is open and Todd can see the other members of the Rowdy 3 inside. Leant up against the passenger door is Martin, cigarette in his mouth.

She walks up to Martin, placing her feet either side of his and he lifts the cigarette from his lips so he can greet her with a soft press of lips against lips. She steals the cigarette from his fingers and jumps out his reach. He shakes his head at her and stalks around the vehicle to jump into the driver’s seat. As Amanda climbs into the passenger seat she looks back at Todd, smiles and waves goodbye.

 


End file.
